The Sundance film festival has seen the latest big-money move by streaming services to take on the established players in high-profile feature film-making, as Amazon picked up US rights to Manchester-by-the-Sea, for $10m.
The much-anticipated film marks the return of director Kenneth Lonergan, whose sparse but highly acclaimed directorial record comprises 2000’s You Can Count on Me and 2011’s Margaret, which was glowingly reviewed, but sunk by delays and lawsuits. Manchester-by-the-Sea features Casey Affleck as a handyman mired in depression who becomes his nephew’s guardian. Michelle Williams also stars.
Manchester-by-the-Sea has attracted mixed reviews, with the Hollywood Reporter calling it “a wrenching family tragedy ... dramatised with the depth of a high-quality American stage piece”, while the Guardian described it as “a study of family dysfunction ... held back by the fact it’s all filtered through Affleck’s withdrawn lead”.
This represents the first major deal of Sundance 2016, although a statement of intent from Amazon’s rival Netflix was posted before the festival began when it bought road comedy The Fundamentals of Caring, starring Paul Rudd, for just under $7m.
